Landmark Tort cases
Foundational UK tort authorities — negligence, nuisance, defamation, vicarious liability — ordered by citation impact.
50 landmarks, ordered by citation impact.
- 01
Donoghue v Stevenson
[1932] AC 562 · House of Lords · 1932House of Lords establishes neighbour principle and modern negligence law
- 02
Rylands v Fletcher
[1868] UKHL 1 · House of Lords · 1868A person who accumulates a dangerous thing on land is liable if it escapes.
- 03
McGhee v National Coal Board
[1973] 1 WLR 1 · House of Lords · 1973 - 04
Lister v Hesley Hall
[2001] UKHL 22 · House of Lords · 2001An employer is vicariously liable where the wrong is closely connected with the employee's duties.
- 05
Sienkiewicz v Greif
[2011] UKSC 10 · Supreme Court · 2011 - 06
Wilkinson v Downton
[1897] 2 QB 57 · Queen's Bench Division · 1897Court establishes tort for intentionally causing harm through false statements
- 07
Read v J Lyons & Co
[1947] AC 156 · House of Lords · 1947Rylands v Fletcher requires escape from defendant's land for strict liability
- 08
Home Office v Dorset Yacht Co
[1970] AC 1004 · House of Lords · 1970Public authorities may owe duties of care when exercising statutory functions.
- 09
Rose v Plenty
[1976] 1 WLR 141 · Court of Appeal · 1976Employers liable for banned employee acts if done in course of employment
- 10
Leakey v National Trust
[1980] QB 485 · Court of Appeal · 1980An occupier owes a measured duty to neighbours to deal with known natural hazards.
- 11
Junior Books v Veitchi
[1983] 1 AC 520 · 1982Duty of care extends to pure economic loss for defective flooring where special relationship exists
- 12
Wilsher v Essex Area Health Authority
[1988] AC 1074 · House of Lords · 1988 - 13
Caparo Industries v Dickman
[1990] 2 AC 605 · House of Lords · 1990Auditors owed no duty to investors relying on accounts when buying shares.
- 14
Murphy v Brentwood DC
[1991] 1 AC 398 · House of Lords · 1991The House of Lords overruled Anns and held defective building cost is pure economic loss.
- 15
Cambridge Water v Eastern Counties Leather
[1994] 2 AC 264 · House of Lords · 1994Foreseeability of the relevant damage is required in nuisance and under Rylands v Fletcher.
- 16
White v Jones
[1995] 2 AC 207 · House of Lords · 1995Solicitors liable to disappointed beneficiaries for negligent will drafting delays
- 17
Spring v Guardian Assurance
[1995] 2 AC 296 · House of Lords · 1995Employers must take reasonable care when writing employment references
- 18
Page v Smith
[1996] AC 155 · House of Lords · 1996A primary victim need only be exposed to foreseeable personal injury, not psychiatric injury specifically.
- 19
Transco v Stockport MBC
[2003] UKHL 61 · House of Lords · 2003Rylands v Fletcher confined to extraordinary uses, excluding ordinary water supply
- 20
Corr v IBC Vehicles
[2008] UKHL 13 · 2008Suicide caused by workplace-injury depression did not break the chain of causation.
- 21
Various Claimants v Morrisons
[2020] UKSC 12 · Supreme Court · 2020An employer is not vicariously liable for an employee's vengeful leak of its payroll data.
- 22
Limpus v London General Omnibus
(1862) 1 H & C 526 · Exchequer Court · 1862 - 23
St Helen's Smelting Co v Tipping
(1865) 11 HLC 642 · House of Lords · 1865Locality is no defence to private nuisance causing material damage to property.
- 24
Sturges v Bridgman
(1879) 11 Ch D 852 · Court of Appeal · 1879 - 25
Heaven v Pender
(1883) 11 QBD 503 · Court of Appeal · 1883 - 26
Robinson v Kilvert
(1889) 41 Ch D 88 · Court of Appeal · 1889 - 27
Smith v Charles Baker & Sons
[1891] AC 325 · 1891 - 28
Christie v Davey
[1893] 1 Ch 316 · Chancery Division · 1893 - 29
Dulieu v White
[1901] 2 KB 669 · King's Bench Division · 1901 - 30
Hambrook v Stokes Bros
[1925] 1 KB 141 · Court of Appeal · 1925 - 31
Hollywood Silver Fox Farm v Emmett
[1936] 2 KB 468 · King's Bench Division · 1936 - 32
Defamation — Sim v Stretch
[1936] 2 All ER 1237 · House of Lords · 1936 - 33
Byrne v Deane
[1937] 1 KB 818 · Court of Appeal · 1937 - 34
Sedleigh-Denfield v O'Callaghan
[1940] AC 880 · House of Lords · 1940An occupier who knows of and fails to abate a third party nuisance is liable.
- 35
Century Insurance v Northern Ireland Road Transport Board
[1942] AC 509 · House of Lords · 1942 - 36
Bourhill v Young
[1943] AC 92 · House of Lords · 1943 - 37
Daborn v Bath Tramways
[1946] 2 All ER 333 · Court of Appeal · 1946 - 38
Twine v Bean's Express
(1946) 62 TLR 458 · Court of Appeal · 1946 - 39
Stansbie v Troman
[1948] 2 KB 48 · Court of Appeal · 1948 - 40
Paris v Stepney Borough Council
[1951] AC 367 · House of Lords · 1951An employer must consider the gravity of harm to a particular employee when taking precautions.
- 41
Bolton v Stone
[1951] AC 850 · House of Lords · 1951A very small risk of harm need not be guarded against by a reasonable person.
- 42
Cassidy v Ministry of Health
[1951] 2 KB 343 · Court of Appeal · 1951 - 43
Latimer v AEC
[1953] AC 643 · House of Lords · 1953 - 44
Watt v Hertfordshire CC
[1954] 1 WLR 835 · Court of Appeal · 1954 - 45
Roe v Minister of Health
[1954] 2 QB 66 · Court of Appeal · 1954 - 46
Bolam v Friern Hospital
[1957] 1 WLR 582 · Queen's Bench Division · 1957A doctor is not negligent if acting as a responsible body of medical opinion would.
- 47
Sayers v Harlow UDC
[1958] 1 WLR 623 · Court of Appeal · 1958 - 48
Halsey v Esso Petroleum
[1961] 1 WLR 683 · Queen's Bench Division · 1961 - 49
Smith v Leech Brain
[1962] 2 QB 405 · Queen's Bench Division · 1962A defendant takes the victim as found: foreseeable burn, unforeseeable cancer, full liability.
- 50
Performance Cars v Abraham
[1962] 1 QB 33 · Court of Appeal · 1962